They love anything to do with ghosts and the supernatural. When their divorced mom moves them to her hometown in Colorado, the sisters discover a real ghost haunts their school—that of a young girl who cries, slams lockers, and leaves mysterious messages as floors writhe, walls weep, and a terrible accident is replayed. Armed with resourcefulness and ghost-hunting tricks they picked up from books and TV, the sisters set out to find the identity of the student apparition. Meanwhile, one of their friends is being bullied. Kat and Marie will need bravery and determination to help their friend and solve the mystery of the girl in Hallway B.

Excerpt:
Mr. Castanza stomped to the north end of Hallway B, glanced both ways, and down the stairs. Then he walked to the other end. Nothing. He tried a few classroom doors, but remembered he had locked them all earlier in his shift.

“This place is showing its age again—moaning and creaking. Ain’t nobody here.” He hoped he was right. He briefly wondered if a cat or squirrel had sneaked inside.

With a rumble, his stomach signaled dinner and time for the turkey and provolone sandwich his wife had packed for him. Unplugging the waxer, the janitor felt the temperature drop within seconds.

“The air conditioning must be acting up again,” Mr. Castanza muttered. He didn’t mind talking to himself because night cleaning could be a lonely job. “Middle of the summer, and I can see my breath.” When he blew out air, a white cloud formed and crystallized.

He shivered. “Sure doesn’t feel like air conditioning.” A chill hugged his bones and surrounded his spirit with gloom. Mr. Castanza glanced up at the ceiling. No air conditioning duct was anywhere around. His nose wrinkled. The frigid air smelled like a giant wad of fruity bubble gum that had been chewed by a hundred different kids, all with bad breath.

“What in the blazes?”

A girl stood in front of Room 214. About the size of a seventh-grader, she had straight shoulder-length red hair with bangs. She wore big wire-framed glasses over a thin face. Dressed in a white blouse, red plaid skirt, and blue sweater, the girl held a blue notebook in one hand. Her other hand covered her eyes. Her body shook with heavy sobs, although she made no sound.

“The school is closed, honey,” Mr. Castanza said gently. “We need to call your parents to take you home.”

About the Book:
Carlisle Homicide Detective Erin McCoy battles the jitters as the first woman in Homicide partnered with Senior Detective Christopher Snow. On their first case, they track a serial killer who’s stalking family members embroiled in an inheritance dispute. The perp dispatches his victims with toxic chemicals. As the detectives chase clues and connect the related victims, their mutual attraction blooms while she nurses him after a shooting incident. But sparks fly when FBI Special Agent Howard offers McCoy a job if she’ll train at Quantico. McCoy returns to Carlisle when she learns she has a rival for Snow’s affections.

Snow’s former partner, Reese Savage, returns to the CPD from Middle-East deployments expecting to resume their bachelor ways. Savage’s ire results in a PTSD spike while he’s tailing a suspect. In the interim, Chief March reassigns McCoy to the K9 Unit. When Mac becomes a target, she learns that she needs Chris to shove and shock her into life.

Carlisle Crime Cases series

Dying for Vengeance is Jody McGibney West’s first murder mystery/romance featuring Detectives Christopher Snow and Erin McCoy in The Carlisle Crime Cases Series. Interested reader may wish to backtrack and meet the Flowers family in her debut novel,Glory in the Flower.

Excerpt:
Relieved to be finished testifying in a local Domestic Violence case, Detective Erin “Mac” McCoy navigated the courthouse stairs. Clambering down concrete steps, wearing spike heels and a bulky quilted jacket while lugging a purse and briefcase, she longed to change into sweats and chill. The defendant and a few suits were clustered near the famed, charismatic defense attorney Antony Karagianis. His dark, wavy hair and distinctive silver sideburns framed telegenic blue eyes. She skirted the staged tableau. Karagianis nodded as she passed but turned to the cameras to explain why his client had been acquitted, despite slashing his wife and threatening his two kids. At the bottom of the steps, a reporter cornered the defense attorney for a sound bite, sticking the microphone in his face.

“I feel like Sisyphus,” Erin muttered, anger surging at the uphill battle with DV; usually the perp was acquitted—or not even tried because the victim refused to press charges. Hiking to her silver Honda Accord a block down West High, Erin fished for her keys and unlocked the door. A woman across the street, with wavy chestnut hair and oversized sunglasses, stood by a mud-brown Dodge Charger parked at the curb, her hands hidden behind her back.

The acquitted sauntered toward them. A thin navy suit, white shirt, and tie failed to hide the dragon tat on his neck. His long dark hair had been washed and gelled back off his face, his mustache and soul patch shaved for the trial. Seeing the woman wiped the satisfied smirk off his face. He rushed to confront her. “You bitch, you filed charges against me! I warned you!” His meaty hands latched onto her neck, squeezing; his body pinned hers against the vehicle. Before Erin could cross the street to intervene, the woman’s right hand came between the couple. A loud pop, then blood and matter spurted from the exit wound. Cordite filled the air. The dead man kept his balance for a few seconds, and then crumpled to the ground, shot through the heart. The gun clattered to the macadam.

About the Author:Dying for Vengeance is the first in the Carlisle Crime Cases series of murder/mysteries featuring Homicide detectives Christopher Snow and Erin McCoy by Jody McGibney West, pseudonym for Joan M. West, Professor Emerita of English Studies at Harrisburg Area Community College, The Gettysburg Campus. She also taught at Messiah College and Shippensburg University as an adjunct and served as Assistant Director of the Learning Center (SU). She has previously published poetry and Glory in the Flower, her debut novel. It depicts four coeds who meet during the turbulent sixties.

She and her husband live near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. They have two sons and two grandsons. In her spare time, West volunteers at the Bookery—Bosler Memorial Library’s used bookstore, participates in the Litwits Book group, and reads voraciously.

Fort Bragg, CA — Residents near this northern California town were stunned to hear the tale of four young campers who had been hiking in the nearby redwood forest. About 12 miles east of town, they had settled in for the evening, playing guitars, reading and smoking a little medicinal marijuana, when they were attacked by a large hairy ape-like man who ransacked their camp.

“Yeah man,” said Derek Mendocino, one of the campers, “we were just chillin’ in the trees, you know, just hangin’ out, when this nasty dude came stompin’ out of the woods, running right at us.”

“Ewwwww, like, yuck!” exclaimed Skye Tyler, Derek’s girlfriend. “He smelled like, you know, like a dog that rolled in his own diarrhea, or something, you know, NASTY!”

“Dude was howlin’ like a banshee, man,” said Malcolm Nighthawk, their native American friend. “Definitely was a sasquatch — one of our ancient brothers.”

“I said … Whoa! Dude! Like slow down, man!” said Derek, explaining his interaction with the man beast. “I was so stunned, I swallowed my blunt!”

“He ripped up my tent and stole the novel I was reading right out of my hands!” cried Penelope Douglas, an aspiring young actress and student at UCLA. “It was my special hard cover first edition of The Cursed Man by Keith Rommel. There are only 500 of these, you know. It’s going to be a movie with Brahm Gallagher!”

“Ahhh Brahm — he’s dreamy,” said Skye. Fortunately, she was able to snap a photo of the creature with her iPhone as it was running off with the novel.

According to Sunbury Press publisher Lawrence Knorr, the beast was estimated at ninety inches tall.

Close up of the Bigfoot near Fort Bragg California that stole a novel.

“The special edition Keith Rommel The Cursed Man is a hardcover with dust jacket six by nine inches. Comparing the book’s length to the height of the beast, it is likely about ten books tall, fully erect. That would put him at close to ninety inches — over eight feet tall!”

Knorr was kind enough to offer the young lady another copy and invited her to the Sunbury Press 10th anniversary party in Mechanicsburg, PA on September 5th at 6 PM. “Keith Rommel and Brahm will both be there to sign books,” said Knorr. “We’ll be sure to replace the young lady’s copy.”

The question that remains is why did the beast attack? And why on earth did he steal a copy of The Cursed Man by Keith Rommel when he could have nabbed food or more practical items.

According to George Grossfuss of the Bigfoot Research Center in Yakima, Washington, this was not the only instance of literary theft by these large simians.

“In 2005, a women had her copy of The DaVinci Code snapped up from her picnic blanket while camping in southern Idaho. More recently, all three volumes of the Fifty Shades of Gray series were grabbed off of a back porch near Mokelumne Hill, California.”

Oddly enough, all were bestselling books about to become movies!

“The MO has been the same in all reports,” offered Grossfuss. “Squatch uncharacteristically makes a lot of noise and charges the site, tears up stuff, scares people, but then runs off with the bestsellers.”

“Thankfully they still like print books,” said Knorr. “I can’t imagine what they would do with a Kindle!”

PARIS — An obscure quatrain by the great seer Michel de Nostradame, aka Nostradamus, had been a mystery to researchers for hundreds of years. With the recent rise in popularity of Keith Rommel’s psycho-thrillers, including “The Cursed Man,” which is presently being made into a movie in Hollywood, the meaning of the ever-puzzling 653rd quatrain now comes to light:

A great book by the scion of the House of the Dry Fox All will marvel at its clever plot and suspenseful narrativeA son of Germany, he will rise in the new landThough cursed, many will flock to hear his tale

The authors, Barbara G. Matthews and Barbara Tranin Blank, have presented a comprehensive work that will benefit every person who is in the position of being a caregiver.

The authors provide key information for all caregivers in every situation that can occur. Their work discusses the caregivers’ various responsibilities, the care receivers’ different reactions to their care, the wide support that hospice gives beyond moribund preparation, and the challenges posed by family members not providing the care. There are caregivers’ different narratives that clearly illustrate the situations that any caregiver will face. These narratives provide solid advice in a personal style that will maintain the reader’s interest.

An especially effective method is the personal sharing by each author. They have very different experiences, one providing within her home and one providing care from a distance. Their narratives that are interspersed throughout the work add to the authenticity of the work. Although personal, both authors do their best to maintain objectivity; they do not present information in a cold manner or overly subjective manner. Their sharing of personal experiences is quite effective.

Since this reviewer has been a caregiver with three family members, I know these authors’ experiences and the sharing by different individuals are very real. And the information they give will benefit every person who is a caregiver or a care receiver.

The culmination of the book is the chapter that provides clear recommendations for every caregiver. This chapter alone is well worth the purchase of the work. And as one who has been a caregiver, What To Do About Mama I know that this book is a must-read for every individual who wants to be a prepared and effective caregiver and a cooperative and more understanding care receiver.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Sunbury Press has released Ken Newman’s latest novel The Voice in my Ear, about a man who is saved from death by a supernatural woman who then involves herself in his life.

About the Book:
Mere moments from a gruesome death, Zack Cole makes a deal with a mysterious stranger. To live, Zack reluctantly becomes the guardian of Layla, an exotic woman struggling under a terrible curse.

Despite a rocky start, Layla discovers an intimacy and passion with the cocky, womanizing Zack that transcends her dreadful curse. Determined that Zack will be hers, Layla uses her vast power to help him solve the mysteries surrounding his attempted murder, unaware that Zack is the target of a vicious band of outcasts on a deadly mission for God.

Excerpt:
Without warning, the passenger-side door opened and a thoroughly soaked man plopped down on the seat.

“Who the hell do you think you are!” screamed the professor as his composure shattered. “Get out of my car before I have you arrested!”

Dressed in a pea coat and jeans, the slim, dark haired stranger gave the irate professor a warm smile and closed the door.

“Good weather for ducks. This thing have a heater?”

“Get out!”

Snarling, the old man balled up a pair of boney, liver-spotted fists, which had not seen combat since a humiliating defeat at the hands of a bully named Rebecca back in 1951.

The show of force made the stranger smile.

“Calm down, Professor Somerton, before you have a heart attack or something. I don’t want to get into a throw down with you; I merely want a smidgen of your time.”

“If you are one of my students trying to appeal a poor grade, you have just picked one hell of a wrong time! Congratulations, moron, you have just failed my class. In fact, I will have you expelled!”

“Not a student. Just a huge fan of your work.”

“A fan … of my work?” The professor slowly dropped his guard.

“You betcha. I read all five of your books from, THEY LIVE AMONG US, to WAS HITLER AN ALIEN?”

Irritated at the intrusion and not in the mood for a conversation, Professor Somerton nonetheless managed a small smile.

“You read my books, young man?”

“From cover to cover.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch the name.”

“Sorry, Professor. My name is Rex Brock.”

“While it is nice to meet someone who appreciates my work, you will have to excuse me. I am late to a very important meeting. Stop by my office tomorrow, and I will be happy to sign an autograph or pose for a photograph. Good day, Mr. Clock.”

“That’s Brock.”

“My apologies. Now if you will excuse me.”

“I am not here for a silly autograph or picture, Professor.”

About the Author:
Ken Newman has loved stories of the supernatural since listening to his grandmother’s tales of witches, haints, boogers, and catawamps when he was a child. Author of urban fantasy novels, The Paladin,The Ark, and now The Voice in My Ear, his fiction reflects his Tennessee roots. His speculative fiction will appear in upcoming editions ofHavok and Splickety magazines. A member of the Authors Guild of Tennessee, Ken lives in East Tennessee with his wife Christian and their three zany daughters.

HOLLYWOOD — Sunbury Press has released Keith Rommel and Lawrence Knorr’s “How I Got Into Hollywood,” providing the author’s and publisher’s perspectives about becoming a published author and being noticed by Hollywood.

About the Book:
Keith Rommel shares his story of how he got the attention of a publisher and movie producer for his novel The Cursed Man, soon to be a major motion picture. While Keith shares the writers perspective, Lawrence Knorr of Sunbury Press, Keith’s publisher, shares the publisher’s perspective. Together, prospective authors receive advice from both sides of the process. Also included is the opening chapter ofThe Cursed Man.

About the Authors:
Keith Rommel is the author of the psychological thriller series “Thanatology” of which “The Cursed Man” is the first volume. He has also written “The Lurking Man” and “The Sinful Man” as part of this series. “The Silent Woman” is due out in 2015.Keith has also written a murder mystery “You Killed My Brother” and a supernatural thriller “Among the People.”The movie “The Cursed Man” is expected out in early 2015.

Lawrence Knorr is the President/CEO of Sunbury Press, Inc. of Mechanicsburg, PA. Sunbury Press is a publisher of trade paperback, hard cover and ebooks in a variety of categories. Sunbury Press is a traditional royalty-paying publisher and does not charge authors for services.